Post by stanley550 on Mar 22, 2014 0:01:26 GMT
Just wanted to start a discussion about motorcycle ergonomics for Gymkhana. I found a couple of things that really affect my riding, so sharing these with you all.
First of all, I'm not an expert, nor do I pretend to be. Take this with a grain of salt.
Second, this will vary from bike to bike. I have SV650 naked, and its about as vanilla of a bike as it gets.... Well maybe Honda's NightHawk might take that (had that one too, loved it ).
First thing I want to discuss is the throttle cable adjustment. My SV650 and I'm pretty sure the rest of the bikes out there, is not completely symmetrical. When I twist my handlebars to a full lock to the left, throttle cables stretch out a little bit, and when I twist fully to the right, they have a bit more play in them.
This resulted in uneven throttle control, right where it mattered most, full lock, deep lean, low speed. I wondered why I would constantly go wider turning left, and why my bike would start surging when I turned right.
After looking closely, what happens is that, when turning left, throttle cables are tight, and any play in the throttle would go away. This resulted in me constantly applying a little bit more throttle, going left. This resulted in wider turns.
Opposite was happening, turning right, more free play in the throttle from relaxed cables, and I had to actively twist throttle to keep RPM steady, as I turned right.
So, check your throttle free play adjustment, at full lock. I found it helps me to still have a little bit of free play when cables are at their tightest, even at an expense of having a bit more free play in neutral position and even more at the opposite position. Just feels more in control this way.
Second is the chain slack. I found that any excessive slack in chain will produce exaggerated surging and jerkiness at low RPM. I am assuming its because as I put more power, rear tightens the chain as the swing arm extends. The more slack in the chain, the more exaggerated the movement will be. Now this will vary greatly from bike to bike, and especially on dual sports and sumo, since chain is usually pretty relaxed on those, due to a large travel distance for their rears. However for my bike it made a huge difference, to tighten it to its tightest, while still being within the manufacturer's spec.
Thirdly is your "stickiness" on the bike. How well you can stay in the seat, without sliding due to lean, acceleration or braking. I added traction pads to the sides of the tank, where my knees are, and that greatly enhanced my ability to control the bike. I no long slide forward when braking, and leaning the bike and staying there is a lot easier.
Fourth are the handlebars. This again, will vary greatly from bike to bike. For my bike, I found that bar risers allowed me to control it much easier at full lock. Major advantage is having throttle hand away from the tank and not being squeezed by it.
That's it for now.
First of all, I'm not an expert, nor do I pretend to be. Take this with a grain of salt.
Second, this will vary from bike to bike. I have SV650 naked, and its about as vanilla of a bike as it gets.... Well maybe Honda's NightHawk might take that (had that one too, loved it ).
First thing I want to discuss is the throttle cable adjustment. My SV650 and I'm pretty sure the rest of the bikes out there, is not completely symmetrical. When I twist my handlebars to a full lock to the left, throttle cables stretch out a little bit, and when I twist fully to the right, they have a bit more play in them.
This resulted in uneven throttle control, right where it mattered most, full lock, deep lean, low speed. I wondered why I would constantly go wider turning left, and why my bike would start surging when I turned right.
After looking closely, what happens is that, when turning left, throttle cables are tight, and any play in the throttle would go away. This resulted in me constantly applying a little bit more throttle, going left. This resulted in wider turns.
Opposite was happening, turning right, more free play in the throttle from relaxed cables, and I had to actively twist throttle to keep RPM steady, as I turned right.
So, check your throttle free play adjustment, at full lock. I found it helps me to still have a little bit of free play when cables are at their tightest, even at an expense of having a bit more free play in neutral position and even more at the opposite position. Just feels more in control this way.
Second is the chain slack. I found that any excessive slack in chain will produce exaggerated surging and jerkiness at low RPM. I am assuming its because as I put more power, rear tightens the chain as the swing arm extends. The more slack in the chain, the more exaggerated the movement will be. Now this will vary greatly from bike to bike, and especially on dual sports and sumo, since chain is usually pretty relaxed on those, due to a large travel distance for their rears. However for my bike it made a huge difference, to tighten it to its tightest, while still being within the manufacturer's spec.
Thirdly is your "stickiness" on the bike. How well you can stay in the seat, without sliding due to lean, acceleration or braking. I added traction pads to the sides of the tank, where my knees are, and that greatly enhanced my ability to control the bike. I no long slide forward when braking, and leaning the bike and staying there is a lot easier.
Fourth are the handlebars. This again, will vary greatly from bike to bike. For my bike, I found that bar risers allowed me to control it much easier at full lock. Major advantage is having throttle hand away from the tank and not being squeezed by it.
That's it for now.
